Just two months into the role, he is already setting an ambitious course for network expansion, corporate development and overall growth strategy across the region.

After spending nearly a decade at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Zayo Europe’s newfound autonomy following its separation from its US counterpart, is what made the transition especially compelling, he tells Capacity at Capacity Europe 2025.

“The big thing for me was the separation from the US- having what is effectively another start-up within Europe. Building a new leadership team,” he explains.

“We have a great platform to build off. The assets we have within Europe are very significant, duct-based, and scalable. For me, it was really compelling to come and be on a new journey with a new business and be part of that.”

Describing Zayo as “another start-up within Europe”, Rice, highlights the company’s strengths as a seasoned company with start-up energy, allowing it to quickly “adapt to Europe’s ever-growing digital landscape”.

A strategy for expansion

In his new position as chief business and strategy officer, Rice is responsible for overseeing Zayo Europe’s corporate development and business development teams, driving long-term partnerships, investment strategies and market expansion initiatives.  

However, under his leadership, Rice emphasised that the core mission remains intact, but with a renewed emphasis on growth and expansion.

“In terms of strategy, I don’t think it will change- we’ll continue to focus on data centre and data centre connectivity, supporting enterprises with high bandwidth needs,” he explains.

That focus is already taking shape through ambitious projects designed to strengthen connectivity between major digital hubs across the continent.

Linking London and Frankfurt

This comes as the company recently announced the launch of a new 400G-enabled wave route connecting London and Frankfurt via Brussels.

The 998km route, which is set to go live early next year will offer faster and more diverse connectivity between two of Europe’s key digital hubs.

This connection also strengthens the FLAP (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, and Paris) markets,  which form Europe’s internet backbone. By providing a direct route, Zayo Europe gives customers greater network resiliency and avoids the need to pass through Amsterdam or Paris.

Running through Brussels, the route will take advantage of the city’s central location, strong connectivity and stable energy supply, making it an ideal hub for Europe’s expanding cloud and AI ecosystems, the company stated, marking it Zayo Europe’s sixth long-haul wavelength route between the UK and mainland Europe.

“Germany is a big focus, particularly Frankfurt. We’re making investments in Frankfurt, including metro infrastructure- pulling cables and ducts at that level of infrastructure. This is new for us and really interesting for next year,” Rice continues.

“These developments feed into the company’s goal to establish itself as a true pan-European backbone provider, supporting enterprises and cloud giants alike.

“We’ll continue to invest in long haul routes and metro networks as well. Our DNA is metro networks, and that’s something we’ll continue to expand in Europe this year,” he says.

Alongside this, Rice revealed, the company’s focus is also on AI growth zones, which are” rapidly developing regions in the UK and across Europe that are becoming focal points for data-intensive innovation.”

“One emerging area is AI growth zones, especially in the UK. We’re well positioned with an extensive London metro network and a UK national network,” he noted.

“Some of the AI UK growth zones aren’t in traditional locations, so our scalable, fibre-based infrastructure puts us in a strong position to support that growth.”

Despite many of Zayo’s competitors announcing job cuts thanks to the rise in AI adoption, Rice confirms that is not the case for Zayo Europe.

“Although I am only two months in, I see AI as a way to get to outcomes quicker,” he stated.

“Things like data crunching and understanding trends can be more efficient. Feeding data into AI can help identify demand and trends not obvious to the human eye, allowing us to tailor solutions and investments accordingly.”

“AI will come to Europe in a meaningful way. Most AI activity has been US-focused, but we’ll see more deployment in Europe. The UK AI growth zones are starting to materialise and take shape,” he added.

Defining a European identity

“Last year we separated from Zayo US, so we’re building our own brand in Europe and charting our own journey.”

This independence has allowed Zayo Europe to adopt a more localised and agile approach- one that reflects the specific needs of European markets, regulations and customers, Rice claims.

“Being a European team focused on Europe brings expertise and autonomy. Customers have recognised the change in focus,” he concludes.

Related stories

EXCLUSIVE: Zayo Europe unveils 400G London- Frankfurt route

Zayo Europe names ex-AWS exec as new chief business development officer

Zayo Group carves out European business